Even though my skills were improving at a tremendous pace, the scary wasp made sure to adjust his strength accordingly, so it felt like I was stuck in some kind of limbo, repeating my first attempt again and again. He no longer revealed any openings for me to attack and without that leeway, I was tragically pushed back and buried hard under piles of rubble.

«Are you done yet?» Sensei asked as I lay there waiting for my HP to refill after suffering the nth defeat.

"I don't know..." I pondered in response. "I want to know what he's thinking playing around with me like this, but I doubt he will answer."

I would have to be dumb not to realize that he had never taken me as a serious threat. The wasp was pretty much uninjured after so many fights, while I was covered in scrapes all over.

But the main question was, why was he keeping me alive?

Crawling out of the rubble, my body felt akin to limp spaghetti and I just laid down beside all the debris to take a short breather.

The scary wasp threw a sneering glance at me and returned to blasting the walls around it, in what I could only assume was a training exercise.

Although, I wasn't so comfortable as to let down by guard. My HP recovered fully after a while but I was completely drained mentally, so I just laid there and continued to observe the wasp for any behavioural traits that might help me fight it more efficiently.

"What do you think it wants?" I was curious. My attacks were never enough to unsettle the scary wasp, yet his attacks were never too strong to fatally wound me even after so many rounds.

«My guess is as good as yours.»

Now that I was at a safe distance and the scary wasp was busy with his own training, I tried to aim [Appraisal] at him once more.

--------------

LV31 Horothia

Specie: Ailith Vespoidea

HP: 490/490 Defence: 340

MP: 236/240 Intellect: 137

SP: 420/425 Magic: 180

Attack: 388 Agility: 548

Skills:

?????: LV:?? ??????: LV:??

--------------

Powerful!

It was way too powerful than anything I'd ever fought!

But just then, I felt a painful sensation in my head, followed by an irritated voice.

[Enough!]

Wind blades flew out from across the chamber, tearing through everything in their path and I barely managed to dodge them while holding onto my life.

What a terrible temper!

And such impressive stats too.

There was no way I could defeat it in my current state even though my skills were constantly levelling up. I have to think of another strategy if I hoped to get through to it.

«There are many other ways to show your admiration than stubbornly throwing yourself at him, even when you know you can't beat him.»

"Admire whom?" The blood drained from my body and I blanched in revulsion. What was this stupid Sensei saying now? How could I admire something with such a condescending attitude?

«I don't make a habit of reading your emotions. But I will if it's to make sense of your behaviour.»

"You're imagining things." I frowned. "Is the mindlink with him still open?"

«You are within range.» Sensei answered. «As long as the wasp doesn't reject it, you can freely communicate.»

I suppressed the sense of intimidation and mustered up the first words I could think of.

[Erm...]

[M-My name is Aurelia. W-What is your name?]

«....»

Why did that sound so childish?

I could feel the disappointment from Sensei and I wanted to bury my head into the ground.

[Name?] was the reply.

The scary wasp seemed confused, so I tried to phrase it differently. [What do your brethren call you?]

[The hive is a collective. We have no need for individual traits such as names.]

His response was perfectly rational. It made sense that he saw the many beings of the hive as part of a whole. However, it felt wrong not having something to call him by.

Feeling a little brave, I pressed on. [Is the Queen also a part of this 'collective'?]

I knew this topic was something he did not want to talk about, but I needed answers so I continued. [You say you are a part of a collective and yet, it seems your Queen doesn't treat you as such, why is that?]

I regretted the question as soon as I asked.

The scary wasp did not respond and I felt I used up all the leeway I had with him. The silence that followed after only made me more uneasy. It was clear the wasp wasn't going to say anymore.

Sensei spoke in a calm voice. «You need to be more rational. Analyse the situation without getting your feelings involved.»

"Maybe I got carried away." I admitted. "I thought I could get some answers and find out his intentions."

«A direct approach like that won't help you in the long run. Not every monster you meet will be as friendly as this one.»

My eyes strayed to where the Scary wasp was training. "He is friendly?"

«Maybe 'friendly' isn't the right word here but it at least doesn't see you as an enemy since you are still alive and well so...»

"Alive and well?" Hmph, I'm alive alright, but definitely not well.

«Familiarity allows 'humans' to let down their guard. Don't forget this is a monster, it has no concept of morality nor any loyalty towards you.»

I sighed. Sensei was right.

[She was never my queen.]

I froze. He actually answered!

[She came from the outside and killed my queen to take over the hive.]

I fell into a deep thought. If the original queen was killed and replaced, it would explain why there was only one queen in the Queen's chambers. But was that really the truth?

If the original queen was dead, where had all the other eggs come from? I knew for a fact that they were two queens from the quests, and I had Sensei's words as proof.

It only made sense if the scary wasp was lying, so I pretended to be oblivious and agreed with him.

[Aren't you here to kill the queen because of our rising numbers?]

The scary wasp spoke in a questioning tone and I froze up.

It seemed to be under the impression I had come here for a purpose rather than getting captured like the other hosts, so I backtracked and came up with a fitting response.

[Yes... I'm here because the hosts in your hive have surpassed the required amount and they need to be... culled.]

Would he believe me?

I observed the scary wasp warily but it simply grunted in agreement and continued to speak.

[The new queen ordered us to hunt in excess. She does not fear anyone, not even your king. If she is allowed to get too strong, her hunger for power will eventually overthrow the balance in the Labyrinth. The only thing holding her back is that we are still too few, but that won't last for much longer.]

I had no idea what it all meant but it explained to some extent why he wanted to kill her.

And also other questions, like why he did not harm me. If he thought I was related to this 'king', it all made sense.

However, its next question left me stumped for a response.

[So where are the rest of your kin?]

My heart thudded as I struggled to think of a passable excuse. My kin? Was he referring to snakes as a collective group?

«It's a trick question.» Sensei said. «He is trying to find out whether you are telling the truth.»

Was this a test? Would my response now determine if he'd made the right choice in keeping me alive?

"Uhh... they are on the way." I cringed at the lame excuse but I couldn't take it back so I continued. "I separated from the others… and snuck in on my own so that I could prove myself."

Phew… that was a good save. I nodded in satisfaction as I'd managed to connect everything reasonably and not leave any holes.

Even if he was still doubtful, he wouldn't be sure enough to act on them.

I observed the wasp for any reaction but it stayed silent for a while, and then he flew over to me.

I immediately started to panic. Did I miss something? Was my answer not good enough?

However, upon reaching me, he didn't try to harm me but gave me an order instead.

[Create more chaos and lure the queen out of her tunnel. Then I will find an opportunity and eliminate her.]

It was scary and I was speechless. He was quite possibly the most terrifying creature I'd ever come across and lacked the concept of loyalty as Sensei had said. Yet, it seemed all he wanted was revenge for wrongdoings against his queen.

I was already in deep water and I found myself compelled to agree to his demands.

[Okay.]

So, it seems I saved my life... for now.

It occurred to me too late that the chaos I'd created was over and I no longer had any more strings to pull. If anything, my actions would soon reveal the existence of the 'dead' queen that this wasp was trying so desperately to hide.

Suddenly the system dinged, its robotic voice deeply contrasting with the dread I was feeling.

〚You have earned the title『Trickster』Activating status effect. Success〛

How encouraging. Rewarded for deceit.

The scary wasp withdrew and my thoughts filled with turmoil as I struggled to think of what to do next.

Did I just make a pact with the devil?